Sound of Running Water
by George McFly
Summary: What happens after Craig beats up Joey.
1. Chapter 1

Stop time

He sat on the floor, knees drawn up to his chest, peeking through his fingers at Joey laying on the floor. Joey was bleeding, and Caitlin and Angie ran to him, concern twisting their faces. He'd done that. He'd hurt Joey just like his dad had hurt him. Craig blinked and looked away. He couldn't look at what he'd done anymore.

Go

Joey sat up, pushed Caitlin gently away.

"I'm fine," he said, wiping the blood from his lip. Caitlin spared Craig a dirty look, having no affection for him at this moment. He was out of control, out of her ability to deal with him. She looked away, upset that she was so angry with an obviously disturbed teenager. Her eyes caught Ashley's for a brief moment, and Ashley saw what she was feeling. Ashley's feelings were different, sympathy and love kind of riding a wave inside of her head, ready to crash against the hard bone of her skull.

Joey wasn't angry with Craig, understanding his lack of control, and he'd seen the look of fear when he had grabbed his arm to prevent him from leaving. He knew this had a lot to do with Albert. He knew something was wrong inside of Craig's head. He could separate the child he had come to love from his actions.

Angie looked fearfully from her father to Craig and back again. She loved them both unconditionally and had never been scared of either but now she was scared of both of them. Scared of how her father had insisted Craig stay when he wanted to leave. Scared of Craig's violent reaction. She was breathing hard and fast, knowing that things were calming down now. Craig was shaking and crying in the corner of the room, Ashley trying to pry his hands away from his face. Her father was methodically cleaning the blood from his face, rubbing spots that were sore from punches.

Caitlin looked down, surprised at her anger. How dare he do that to Joey, how dare he hurt the one person who had stood by him through all the mess of his father beating him and then his father dying. She would not accept that Craig couldn't control it. She went into the kitchen and stared out the window.

Angie stood stalk still, afraid to move, afraid to even breath. The only sounds now were the sounds of the water running in the downstairs bathroom, Ashley's soft voice telling Craig it would be okay, and Craig's gasping, sucked in breaths.

"Caitlin, I'm bringing him to the emergency room. Can you stay here with Angie?" Joey's voice was calm and purposeful. Caitlin would barely look at him but she nodded, her lips pressed together.

Pause

"Craig," Joey said, bending at the knees to be almost on Craig's level. Craig wouldn't look at him.

"Craig," Joey said again, patient. Ashley looked at Craig expectantly, wondering if he'd answer. He had his hands up and covering his face. Joey took them and pulled them away. Craig blinked at him, staring at the lip that was still bleeding, staring at the cut near his eye.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice thick.

"It's okay. Something is wrong with you. You need help. We're going to the hospital," Short statements, calm tone of voice. Ashley looked grateful that someone besides her was in control.

Joey pulled Craig to his feet, and Ashley noticed how much taller Craig was, towering over Joey. He led him to the car, instructed Ashley to sit in the back seat with him. Crraig leaned his head against the cold glass of the car door, and Joey recalled that was how he had sat in the car when he drove him home from the cemetery when he had run away in grade nine. Looking at him he could almost feel the cold glass against his own cheek.


	2. Chapter 2

Waiting

Caitlin had hardly moved from her spot in the kitchen, her feet rooted to the floor, her head tilted as she stared out the window. She hadn't thought so much about Craig before, he'd just been around. He was in and out after school, going to band practice, going to Ashley's house. He didn't really affect things, not like now. She didn't think she liked it.

Angie colored in her coloring book propped open on the coffee table but her mind wasn't on it. Her mind was with her father and her brother as they went to the hospital. She didn't like hospitals, something deep in her cells recoiled at the thought of them. Deep in her brain she had the dim memories of her mother's many hospital stays.

Ashley felt like she was holding her breath as Joey drove steadily and at the speed limit to the hospital. Craig wasn't talking. He was still leaning his head on the glass, watching the scenery go by. Ashley didn't know if she should say something or even what she should say. So she stayed quiet.

Joey drove, the act of driving comforting as the riot of worry erupted in his head. Snake's words coming back to him, 'I don't know, Joey. I see a lot of teenagers and Craig seems to be going through something more,' He'd wanted to believe that Craig was fine, really fine. That he had escaped all the abuse and the deaths of his parents without a scratch.

Craig was focused on what he had done to Joey. At the time it had seemed like he had to do it, he had to get away, and Joey had grabbed him just like his father used to and he couldn't differentiate the two of them anymore. His thoughts were fast and slippery, and sometimes he just caught the tail end of one. He'd been so focused on Ashley, on marrying her and having his own family, his own place to belong. She'd become the world to him. He didn't want Joey telling him what to do and that he couldn't leave and feeling trapped like he had felt when he lived with Albert. He shook his head, crying because he'd hurt Joey and he had never meant to. He'd never meant to act like that.

Separation

Joey drove the car smoothly into a parking spot that was far from the E.R. entrance but the parking lot was packed. Ashley looked at the rows of multicolored cars with wide eyes. Craig didn't even seem to see them.

"Craig, c'mon," Joey said, opening his door. Ashley was struck by the calmness of his voice and his movements. He wasn't angry at all. Craig raised his head, the tears shining in his eyes and making them look almost green. He nodded and got out of the car, followed Joey and Ashley to the hospital.

Inside the hospital the smell struck Ashley immediately, some antiseptic smell of Lysol and alcohol and deeper down, blood. It reminded her of going to visit her grandfather here when he had pneumonia and of the time she fell and hit the rock and had to have stitches in her leg.

For Craig the smell was different, reminding him of his father. He would smell like this when he came home from surgery days. This was the smell that had filled his nose all those times he had gone to the hospital to meet him. This smell was mostly associated with pleasant memories of his father, and for an instant he missed him.

Joey smelled it and thought of the time he and Snake and Wheels had to come here in high school and get Wheels' stomach pumped. He thought of visiting various elderly relatives as their days wore down but mostly he thought of Julia. This smell was too much for him, reminding him of her pale skin and sunken cheeks, her wispy hair, the I.V. tubing that snaked into her veins, dripping the solutions that had failed to save her life.

Joey led Ashley and Craig to the chairs set up along the periphery of the room and he went up to the reception desk to explain the problem. The receptionist, an overweight woman with a cheery smile, asked for insurance cards and personal information and Joey answered question after question. He answered name, age, address, previous surgeries or medical conditions, medications he was currently taking, allergies, grade in school, participation in sports, and on and on.

"Okay, I'll have a nurse see him but this sounds like psych. It'll be a wait," she said, and Joey nodded, ready to wait all night if that's what it took.

"He's not hurt, is he?" she said, and he shook his head no.

He made his way back to Craig and Ashley. Ashley was wide eyed, overwhelmed. Craig was out of it, his legs bouncing up and down, eyes looking everywhere at once.

"We have to wait awhile," he said to Ashley, and she nodded.

"You should go home. It might be hours. I'll call you when I know anything," he said, and she felt oddly adult at that, like she was part of that inner circle.

"Okay," she said, and then she stood up and tapped Craig on the shoulder.

"Bye," she said, and he blinked, ducked his head, reminding her of how he had looked after the battle of the bands last year, Marco and Spinner and Jimmy jumping up all around him but he had stood there, solemn, his head down.

"Bye," he said.


End file.
